Straydog UPDATE posted TUESDAY 7/1/03 at ~9:44 p.m. CT

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

TUESDAY JULY 1 2003

Nikki is doing better every day

     Little by little Nikki is coming out of her shell. Today she acted almost like a normal dog. (You'll remember that when we first took her in after her rescue at a golf course in Dallas, she was literally terrified of everything and everyone.)

     Today Guy reported that when it was Nikki's turn to go to the big play yard, she actually came up to her gate and waited. Before the walker would have to go into her kennel and coax her out of her dog house. And she had a very good outing in the park today with her kennel mate Rex.

Shannon took Jed and Misty to the vet and brought Benny back with Jed and Misty

Shannon's report ...

Jed:

     Jed's ankle was swollen this morning so Shannon made an appointment for him to see Dr. Morton, but he couldn't figure out why Jed had water on his ankle, so he took an x-ray. The doctor discovered Jed's left knee is in horrible shape. It has arthritic deterioration and what the vet described as "gunk." He said Jed could get arthroscopic surgery, which would clean his knee up a bit, but it would be quite costly and only temporary. The doctor said with Jed's advanced age, the better course is pain management rather than putting Jed through a stressful recovery period after a surgery that would only temporarily fix the problem. The water and swelling was likely a bee sting or snake bite, and Dr. Morton recommended Benedryl.

Benny:

     Benny (Rosie's puppy who busted open his neuter stitches yesterday) was sedated so they could thoroughly scrub the area to determine what damage he might have done. The doctor said it looked great, and he chose not to re-stitch the area.

Misty:

     Misty had her weekly allergy injection (one day early since we were taking the other two in), and she was very patient while waiting for the other dogs.

An email to my daughter, Erin, from a woman named Cher, one of our readers

Erin,

     I've had these thoughts rattling around in my head for days ...

     I never met your mom, but I know how she looked. I never heard her voice in person or even on the phone, but I knew her words. She wasn't my teacher, but I learned from her. Her style of writing about the daily goings-on at Straydog was captivating, and I always looked forward to the updates. After more than a year of reading Pat I learned to tell when she might be a little frustrated or "down" about something, even though she might not have intentionally revealed such feelings. It just came out between the lines. Always, her dedication and passion for what she was doing was contagious, motivating me to think and do more about "what really counts" and halting my fretting over something petty or silly.

     Often Pat's words had a way of "bringing me back to center," and those are the words I will remember when I think about her. Things like "what a beautiful sight to see Nikki so happy" and "Katie is happy, so we are happy" and "she is perfect again" (about Blind Freckles after her eyelids were sown shut to stop the chronic infections).

     Pat's words often made me stop and appreciate things taken for granted. And in my mind's eye, when I visualize Pat, she will be at Rainbow Bridge in a special gown with pockets to hold doggie treats, and lots of dogs will be running toward her, Granny Snowflake leading them with the wind blowing in her face.

     I know you will all miss her forevermore, the loss of her physical presence painfully felt, but the important things she left with us all will go on and on and on.

     As always, you all (doggies too) are in my prayers every day.

Sincerely,
Cher